Is Google Books an Explorer, or a Conquistador?

Does the Google Books settlement create an opportunity for the search engine giant to secure a chokehold on the book scanning market, or is Google just the first company to jump into what will become a competitive and sought-after business segment? Legal experts debated the topic Tuesday.

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Does the Google Books settlement create an opportunity for the search engine giant to secure a chokehold on the book scanning market, or is Google just the first company to jump into what will become a competitive and sought-after business segment?

Legal experts tackled those questions and more during a Tuesday discussion about the deal in Washington, D.C.

David Balto, an antitrust lawyer and senior fellow at The Center for American Progress, likened Google's quest to scan every book into a searchable database to Christopher Columbus' hunt for the new world.

"Just because they've gone and created products that are very popular doesn't mean that they should receive special scrutiny under antitrust laws," Balto said during an event sponsored by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

In 2004, Google partnered with major university libraries to scan their collections and make them available on the Internet. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Author's Guild sued Google for copyright infringement in 2005. In October 2008, the two sides announced a $125 million agreement that will create a registry of online books, and allow U.S. consumers and institutions to purchase access to that material.

Balto painted Google as a company that was interested in taking a risk and exploring new projects. "We should recognize how what Google has done has fundamentally democratized information," he said.

Allowing greater access to content will lead to an "increase in research and understanding of issues," Balto said.

He was also skeptical that the deal will make it harder for other companies to enter the market. The settlement expands the public domain, so competitors could go and scan books for their own e-book repository, Balto said.

He acknowledged that the scrutiny by the courts was "wholly appropriate" but said that Google should be applauded for its innovation and the $125 million deal.

James Grimmelmann, an associate professor of law at New York University, also applauded Google's efforts, but was less enthusiastic about the possibility for competition in the space.

"I see higher entry barriers in a post-settlement world in the sense that Google now has access to a market that simply did not exist before and could not exist unless the settlement relaxed copyright law," Grimmelmann said.

It won't be impossible for other companies to enter the book scanning market, but there's also no guarantee that they will be able to secure the rights to do so, he said. "The barriers imposed by the law are of a different sort than barriers imposed by the market."

The settlement will enable university libraries to subscribe to Google Books and tap into a vast online repository of approximately 30 million documents. This will be a highly desirable addition to university libraries, and a way to attract new students and faculty, according to Band.

The concern among libraries, Band said, is that Google will be the only company supplying a product that will be necessary for libraries to stay competitive.

For libraries, the intangible arguments about copyright law and antitrust are "interesting and irrelevant," Band said. They want to know if they will eventually be charged an arm and a leg for access, he said.

They are not actually worried about Google as much as they are the rights holders. "They think Google will try to keep the price of an institutional subscription low, but are worried that registry [holders] will try to get the price high," Band said.

Band pushed for continued involvement of the court, even after the deal is approved.

"We think the framework exists by which the court can keep an eye on things and make sure that the pricing of the institutional subscriptions down the road doesn't go out of control," Band concluded.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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